Toothpick dispenser



Aug. 30, 1960 c. v. CORNWELL TOOTHPICK DISPENSER Filed Jan. 7. 1958 FIG. 2

FIG. 4

INVENTOR C|uude\/.Cornwel|,

AGENT United States Patent i TOOTHPIC-K DISPENSER Claude V. Cornwell, Spring St, Louisville, Miss.

Filed Jan. 7, 1958, Ser. No. 707,599

1 Claim. (Cl. 221-154) This invention relates to new improvements in dispensers, of the type used for dispensing toothpicks, although it will be understood that the device herein disclosed may be used for dispensing other articles for which it may be found adapt-able and desirable.

The primary object of this invention, as hereinafter set forth, is to provide a dispenser which is adapted to dispense the toothpicks or other articles, one or more at a time, in an efiicient and sanitary manner.

' A further object is to provide a dispenser of the character described which will be very simple in construction,

strong, durable, compact, attractive in appearance, and which may be more economically manufactured.

These and further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a study of. the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein of the device made in accordance with the present invention,

Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof,

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2, i

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 44 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail view similar to Fig. 3, but showing the rotatable element in a different position.

While the device as illustrated in the drawings is a form of the invention adapted for dispensing toothpicks and the like, it could be adapted for dispensing matches or other slender articles of any substantially uniform size, or even bulky articles such as candy bars, snacks, or other edibles or staples. For dispensing edibles, toothpicks, etc., where sanitation is important, it will be noted that the pants are so constructed that they may be easily disassembled and cleaned, and the operative parts are normally covered so as to maintain them in a sanitary condition between cleaning periods for long intervals.

-T he device illustrated consists of a stand having sides and 12, connected by front and rear base strips 14 and 16 respectively, at the bottom and a top brace strip 18.

Each side is grooved on its inner face along the front and rear edges and diagonally between the lower end of the front edge and substantially the middle of the rear edge.

The diagonal grooves 20 are for the reception of a sheet metal piece 22 having a curved lower lip 24, to serve as a flat chute for delivering the toothpicks or other articles down to the lip 24, after they are dropped from above by operation of the dispenser by turning the knob 26 fixed to the outer end of a barrel member 28 which has an open inner end abutting the inner face of the opposite side 10' and is loosely fitted telescopically to rotate around a fixed barrel member 30 and having its outer closed end 40 fitted rotatably in the bore 34 in the side 12.

The closed end 40 is flush with the outer face of side ice 12 when the device is assembled, and the parts are held in this operative relation by a simple latch bar 36, pivoted at 38 for easy release of barrel member 28 when disassembling the device for refilling, cleaning or repair, by turning the bar out of line of the bore 34. The inner side of the closed end 40 projects slightly into the fixed barrel member 30 to provide a guide support for the open end of the fixed barrel member 30.

The closed end of the fixed member 30 has a square shank 42 with a screw-end 43 for mounting in a square opening in the side 10 and fixing barrel member 30 firmly against rotation when mounted by means of the washer 32 and nut 44 on said screw-end. The barrel member 30 is provided with an axial slot 46 along its bottom which is at least the width of the article being dispensed and preferably two or more times that width, and segmental fillers 48 may be fixed to the inside of the barrel of the feeding funnel remained arcuately concave. This slot 46 extends the full length of the space formed between. the opposite ends of the barrel members, so that there will be no end shoulders in the slot to interfere with feeding of the articles.

An arcuate sheet metal piece 50 is fixed between sides 10 and 12 in close proximity to the outer cylindrical surface of the barrel member 28, and extends around its bottom over an arc greater than the radial projection of the slot 46. Fig. 1 is an elevational end view of a preferred form the piece 50 while the operator turns the barrel member 28 by means of the knob 26. p

In turning the knob clockwise, the article, in the present illustration the toothpick 59, which is picked up in the slot 52 from the funnel through slot 46, is dis-- charged by gravity as the slot 52 passes over the front edge of the piece 50, and drops to the chute surface 22 down which it slides to the front lip portion 24, which stops it in a convenient position for serving to the operator, without waste. Obviously, if the toothpicks were served in an open container the customers are apt to take more than one toothpick because it is difficult to separate one from the bunch, resulting in unnecessary waste, and even if one is selected, it is diflicult to do so without danger of contamination of the other toothpicks from infected fingers, resulting in unsanitary conditions.

Instead of having just one slot 52 in the barrel member 28, two or more such slots may be spaced around the barrel. In the device illustrated, two slots 52 are spaced apart, which makes that the knob has only to be turned 180 to dispense one toothpick, if it is turned successively in the same direction, instead of requiring a full turn when only one slot 52 is provided. The amount of turning required for dispensing a toothpick may be further reduced, by providing more slots, as may be desirable. Normally, however, it may be expected that the operator would turn the knob on an average of about 180 in one twist; and if he did not get any results, he would repeat the operation.

The barrel members are preferably made of conductive materials, so as to avoid the possibility of building up of electrostatic charges during operation, which might interfere with proper feeding, due to sticking of the toothpicks to oppositely charged parts. Sheet metal of suitable gage may be used for the barrel elements as well 3 as the pieces forming the chute, the front and back covers 54 and 56 respectively, and the arcuate pi'ece50.

The back cover 56 fits slidingly into the rear edge grooves on the inner faces. of the sides and 12, and has a top portion 58 bent horizontally to fit snugly over the upper edges of the sides 10. and 12, when its back portion is slid allthe way down in its, grooves. The front cover 54 similarly fits into the front. edge grooves and has a narrow upper edge bent backward horizontally to fit over the front edge of the top portion 58 when pushed down in its grooves. it may have a finger grip formed at its bottom edge by slightly bend ing a portion of this edge forward.

These covers may be easily pulled out for inspection, cleaning, etc., and at the same time provide a smooth finished eifect and flat surfaces for decorative or advertising uses.

The. front lower portions of the sides 10 and 12 may be cut away, as shown, to enhance the appearance of the device, as well as to facilitate looking into the chute from either side of the device, to see if a toothpick has dropped down after a twist of the knob 26.

Many modifications may obviously be made in the form and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, which is defined in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A dispenser for slender articles comprising a frame, a fixed horizontal barrel member having an open and a closed end and having an axial funnel shaped slot extending the entire length of its bottom and mounted at its closed end on said frame, a rotatable barrel member having an open and a closed end, said open end slidably mounted over the free end of said fixed barrel member and extending coextensively with said fixed barrel member, and an arcuate strip closely adjacent the bottom portion of said rotatable barrel member and extending its full length, said rotatable barrel member having at least one axial slot extending its entire length and sufficiently wide to receive at least one of said slender articles from the fixed barrel member through the bottom slot therein, as the rotatable barrel member is. turned to pass its slot by the said bottom slot for dispensing said article after further movement of the rotatable member until its slot clears the edge of said arcua te strip, said frame consisting of two sides interconnected by brace strips, said sides having straight grooves in their inner faces extending from the lower front corner to the middle of the back, and a fiat sheet slidably fitted into said grooves and extending between said sides with an upturned lip at its lower edge to form a chute for catching the article dispensed and dropped by turning said rotatable barrel member, said sides having further grooves in their inner faces along their front and back edges, and fiat sheet members slidably fitted in said grooves and extending between said sides with overlapping top portions fitting over the upper edges of said sides to form a continuous cover over the back, top and upper half of the front of said dispenser, said fixed barrel member having a closed end mounted to one side and an open end extending to the other side, a coaxial bore in said other side serving as a bearing for the outer end of said rotatable barrel member, and a turning knob on the outer end of said rotatable barrel member, said fixed barrel member having a closed end mounted to one side and an open end extending to the other side, a coaxial bore in said other side serving as a bearing for the outer end of said rotatable barrel member, a latch bar pivoted to the outer face of said other side above said bore normally hanging downwardly over said bore to hold said rotatable barrel member in assembled position and movable out of the bore for withdrawing said rotatable barrel member during disassembly, and a turning knob on the outer end of said rotatable barrel member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,400,904 Nomeland Dec. 20, 1921 1,482,830 Woods et a1 'Feb. 5, 1924 1,693,458 Patterson Nov. 27, 1928 2,234,868 Laudien Mar. 11, 1941 2,434,222 Olivier Jan. 6, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS 398,256 Great Britain Sept. 14, 1933 

